Tuesday, August 2 2005 15:15 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Expressing concern over the state of universities and research institutions in India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today (Aug 02, 2005) said there was a need for a second wave of institution building in education and research.

"Our universities and centres of excellence are falling behind the best in the world, both in terms of human capital and physical infrastructure. The time has come to create a second wave of institution building and of excellence in the field of education, research and capacity building in India so that we are better prepared for the 21st century," he said while launching the newly constituted Knowledge Commission.

Emphasising on the need for making institutions of higher education and research world-class, the prime minister noted: "There is a genuine funds constraint in the public sector that is being neutralized only in part by private sector. Together the public and private sectors are not able to cope with the demand for higher and professional education."

He felt that India should be able to attract global investment in research and development activity, saying: "I think we should put in place required legal and physical infrastructure that can attract more foreign investment in research and development activity in India."

The Prime Minister said he would like the commission to come forward with bold proposals aimed at improving excellence in research and teaching, especially in frontier areas of science and technology.

"India cannot afford to lag behind the rest of the world," he added.